Tickets for Michael Jackson's 50 live dates at London's O2 arena have sold out, meaning that a staggering one million tickets to see the singer have been bought in a matter of hours.

Dates for the summer residency, beginning on 8 July, had been extended to 50 nights – one for each year of Jackson's life. The singer is said to be "thrilled" by the response, though no doubt his promoters are even happier. "Not only are these concerts unparalleled, these records have never been broken," said Randy Phillips, of promoters AEG Live. "We knew this was show business history, but this is a cultural phenomenon".

Tickets only went on sale on Friday 13 March, with pre-sale allocation available yesterday, and Ticketmaster described the demand as "unprecedented". Fans queued overnight outside the O2 arena in Greenwich, south-east London, in the hope of avoiding jammed phonelines. However, those not lucky enough to secure a ticket can head to eBay to buy them second hand, providing they are prepared to pay between £170 and £10,000.

Jackson confirmed details of his O2 arena residency last week with the words: "When I say this is it, I mean this is it," prompting many to question whether this will be his farewell tour.

Those who managed to buy tickets for the singer's first full concert in 12 years can expect to hear "the songs my fans want". Tabloid speculation this week claimed these would include classics such as Billie Jean and The Way You Make Me Feel. And with the This Is It dates now stretching into 2010, Jackson has plenty of opportunity to perfect them.